1. Acting on energy and climate change
2. Protecting our water
3. Protecting our natural areas
4. Reducing waste and preventing pollution
5. Growing a sustainable, prosperous economy
6. Fostering a green and healthy society
7. Greening the provincial government

Manitoba's abundance of fresh water sustains our ecosystems, our communities and our economy. Given its importance to our way of life, we know we cannot take our wealth of clean water for granted. Protecting drinking water, improving the health of Lake Winnipeg and conserving water supplies are all priorities that need to be addressed to ensure our water will be protected and preserved for the benefit of future generations.

It is up to all of us to protect and conserve our province's vast water resources. With fully 70% of our water flowing into Manitoba from other jurisdictions, we must also work interprovincially and internationally towards common water quality goals and standards. Recognizing the importance of water to Manitoba was the driving force behind initiatives like the creation of Manitoba Water Stewardship - the first department of its kind in Canada - banning the bulk exportation of water from our province, introducing new planning and water protection laws and launching Operation CleanFarm to recover and properly dispose of old agriculture-use chemicals.

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water

In 2001, work began to better safeguard drinking water for all Manitobans. Since then, new drinking water legislation was passed, a new Office of Drinking Water was established, 12 new drinking water officers were hired and over $79 million was spent to upgrade drinking water and waste water treatment facilities across the province. In addition, a subsidy for drinking water tests that had been eliminated in the 1990s was re-introduced to assist rural Manitobans with the costs of well water testing.

Water Source Protection

With water better protected at the tap, a public discussion was launched to better protect and provide water stewardship right at the source. This resulted in the release of the Manitoba Water Strategy in 2003. Out of that strategy, Manitoba Water Stewardship was formed and a Water Protection Act - the first of its kind in Canada - was passed in June 2005. This act is now being implemented by the new department.

The Water Protection Act will put water quality standards under legislation for the first time and establish water quality management zones to better protect sensitive ground and surface water. The act also promotes watershed based planning. In addition, the number of conservation districts has nearly doubled since 1999 and new watershed plans will continue to build on the work of local conservation districts across the province.

Water Conservation

The Water Protection Act

We are working with livestock producers to identify and improve the environmental performance of older manure storage facilities, built previous to current construction standards. Also, more producers - like Topeaka Farms, one of the largest independent pig operations in the province - are implementing manure management processes like anaerobic digesters, which deal with waste onsite, cut greenhouse gas emissions and produce electricity for both farm use and selling excess power back into the provincial energy grid.

We will build on this by:

• establishing new regulations to designate water quality management zones that will include new limitations on phosphorous and restrict nutrient loading from municipal waste, septic fields, livestock manure and farm fertilizers in sensitive areas
• implementing a water protection incentive program to build on the Riparian Areas Tax Credit and best management practices developed under the Agricultural Policy Framework
• building on initiatives like the Environmental Farm Plan program which helps producers improve farm practices, like ensuring fertilizer is going into the crop, not the water
• implementing new regulations that will put water quality standards into law for the first time
• creating new watershed planning authorities that will build on the success of Manitoba's 17 conservation districts
• introducing new water conservation programs to assist municipalities, business, farmers and home owners to lower their water use - programs that will be co-ordinated through Green Manitoba, a new provincial agency to foster conservation and energy savings activities.

Lake Winnipeg

Many of the measures in The Water Protection Act will also help preserve Manitoba's prairie ocean - Lake Winnipeg. In 2003, the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan was launched to address new scientific data that indicates nitrogen and phosphorus loads in the lake are now 10% higher than in 1970. Although these nutrients do occur in our water naturally, higher levels caused by municipal waste, septic fields and fertilizer run-off can result in oxygen depletion of the lake, which in turn allows algae to grow and spread.

The Lake Winnipeg Action Plan includes comprehensive measures for the following sectors:

• Municipal - Nutrient limits are being incorporated into major facilities such as the cities of Winnipeg and Brandon and will be required for all new industrial facilities. We are developing strategies for nutrient control at small municipal facilities across Manitoba.
• Rural and Agricultural - A new manure and mortalities regulation was passed to place limitations on manure spreading and the location of spread fields. The Riparian Tax Credit was introduced and extended to encourage the protection of vegetative cover along rivers, streams, drainage ditches and lakeshores. A soil testing awareness program has been launched to raise awareness about the impacts fertilizer over-application can have on waterways.
• Individual - Onsite sewage disposal regulations were updated for the first time since the 1930s to set strict limitations on the location of holding tanks and septic fields for new houses, cottages and developments. In addition, a clean beaches program, including a public awareness campaign for beach goers and cottagers, was introduced in the summer of 2004.
• International - In 2004 Manitoba reached an agreement with Minnesota and North Dakota to reduce nutrients flowing into the Red River and into Lake Winnipeg, with a target of reducing the nutrient load on the lake by 10% over the next five years. The agreement was endorsed by the International Joint Commission - the Canada-US body that oversees cross-boundary water issues - and was subsequently submitted to the US Department of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of State. In addition, Manitoba continues to work with Ottawa and Washington to ensure projects like the Devils Lake outlet in North Dakota will not result in foreign biota and poor quality water entering Manitoba's waterways. The Manitoba government will also work to ensure there is no resurrection of the Garrison water diversion proposal that was initiated in the 1970s.

We will build on this by:

• working with the federal government to support more research, greater incentives and inter-provincial and international co-operation to meet the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan targets
• working with the City of Winnipeg and the federal government to achieve the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan targets through upgrades to the west and north end water treatment plants by 2006. Full nutrient removal will be implemented at all three Winnipeg wastewater treatment plants by 2014
• working with the City of Winnipeg to provide a plan to advance work on combined sewer overflows, in keeping with Clean Environment Commission recommendations
• concluding negotiations with the City of Winnipeg and neighbouring municipalities regarding a capital region approach to providing water and treating wastewater - a major benefit of regional wastewater improvements will be to further reduce nutrient loads flowing into Lake Winnipeg
• new water quality management zones for nutrients regulations will also provide strong scientific tools to protect land from over-application of nutrients contained in fertilizers, animal manure and municipal wastewater sludge - this will protect our valuable water systems, including those used for drinking water